


Did They Ever Fight Like Us?

by GleekPlusDirectioner



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, Boxer!Liam, M/M, mild violence, singer!niall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-03
Updated: 2014-05-03
Packaged: 2018-01-21 17:50:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1558898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GleekPlusDirectioner/pseuds/GleekPlusDirectioner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Niall Horan, Irish singer, dates boxer, Liam Payne.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Did They Ever Fight Like Us?

"So, Niall," his dark-haired interviewer, Patrick, began, "your boyfriend. Tell us a bit about him."

Niall laughed a bit. "What about him?"

"He's a boxer, yes?" Patrick prompted.

"Yeah," Niall nodded. "'The Payne Train'." He glanced around the studio, noticing a few intent stares from the audience through the harsh lighting.

"So… what's that like?" With the beginnings of a smirk, Patrick asked, "Do you ever worry about him?"

"Every time he steps into the ring I'm terrified," Niall replied honestly with a heavy sigh. "I know he hates it when I fuss over his bruises, but I get really scared that something serious is gonna happen to him."

Patrick raised an eyebrow him. "And he has a fight later tonight, doesn't he?"

Niall nodded. "Semi-finals for something, I think."

"Are you going along?"

"Maybe," Niall replied cryptically with a slight chuckle. "I go to most of his fights. I like to know that, if something _does_ go wrong, I'm there and don't have to drive across the city to reach him."

There was a chorus of 'aww's from the audience. "Isn't that sweet?" Patrick asked the audience rhetorically. "So, you sit on the sidelines with an icepack in hand, Niall?"

Frowning a little at the man's mockery of his concern, Niall shook his head. "No, that would be stupid. I just get a bit worried he's gonna get hurt."

"You're dating a boxer, Niall," Patrick laughed. "Of course he's going to get hurt." He was the only one laughing.

"I'm allowed to be concerned for my boyfriend's safety, no matter what his job is," Niall pointed out, trying to keep the snappish edge out of his voice.

Patrick shook off his irritation and continued with the interview. Niall was relieved when it wrapped up five minutes later and was out of his seat the second the cameras turned off. "No need to get snarky," Patrick told him with a roll of his eyes. "Jeez, you pansies all seem to get so worked up."

Niall stood in front of the still-seated man and glared down at him. "As you have been reminding me for the past ten minutes, Patrick, my boyfriend is a boxer. Maybe _he_ could remind _you_ of that fact." He stormed off the set, roughing pulling his microphone off and snatching his jacket from his bodyguard.

"Niall-"

"Liam's fight starts in forty minutes. I wanna see him before he goes on," Niall interrupted. "Come on, Paul."

Paul sighed and hurried after Niall as the blonde headed down the hallway with purpose. Once they were in the car and on their way, Paul spoke up. "Niall, that was poorly handled."

"I don't care," Niall muttered, folding his arms crossly. "How dare he? He criticises me for worrying about my boyfriend, then he calls me a pansy. 'You're dating a boxer'," he mocked.

"Niall, everyone knows he's a prick," Paul pointed out. "And after that, I doubt he'll have a job anymore, so rest assured."

Niall scoffed and glared out the window for the rest of the drive.

 

When Paul opened his door for him, Niall found some semblance of a show-face and stepped out. He waved to the fans that had showed up, ducking inside the building quickly. Making a beeline for Liam's prep-room, Niall at least waited for Paul to catch up before hurrying inside.

"Niall?" Liam sounded surprised. "I wasn't expecting you for another ten minutes."

"Left the studio early," Niall shrugged, walking up to where his boyfriend was having his knuckles wrapped by his trainer, Paddy. He stood on his toes and pecked Liam's lips, then leaned his head against his bare shoulder.

Frowning, Liam wrapped his free arm around Niall's waist. "What's wrong?" he asked, kissing the top of his boyfriend's head.

"Had some prick of an interviewer having a go at me for worrying about you," Niall mumbled.

Liam nodded in thanks to Paddy, who finished up his hand and left to organise a drink bottle. "Don't listen to them, babe," he murmured, wrapping his now-free arm around Niall's upper-back. Niall was a good few inches shorter than him, which made him just the right height for hugging, in Liam's opinion.

"You don't think I'm a pansy for worrying, do you?" Niall asked quietly.

"No, I'd never think that," Liam assured him. Patting Niall's shoulder, he sighed, "I've gotta keep getting ready, babe." He pulled back and kissed Niall's nose before heading over to his trainer.

All too soon, Liam was off towards the ring with his trainer, Niall and Paul following along behind. Niall grabbed Liam's hand just before he hopped into the ring. "Be careful," he pleaded.

Liam shot him a wink and climbed up to where the lights were shining and his opponent was waiting.

Niall bit his thumbnail; the bloke on the other side of the ring was _huge_. He looked like a wall of muscle. Niall would never count Liam as small, but compared to this guy, he was. "Fuck, please don't get hurt," Niall whispered. Paul wrapped his arm around his shoulders for support.

The fight started and Niall flinched as the other bloke went straight for Liam's face. Liam, thankfully, proved to have faster reflexes, as he dodged and retaliated before his opponent could try again.

Throughout the whole match, Niall was chewing his nails, tucking further and further into Paul's side with every swing that was made at his boyfriend. Niall was a nervous wreck; Liam had never fought anyone like this before and it was obvious that it was tough for him. There was already a dark bruise forming under his left eye and his lip was split.

"Holy hell," Niall squeaked as Liam narrowly missed a flying fist. "If he doesn't make it out of this, remind me never to date a man who fights for a living," he muttered to Paul.

"Will do," Paul nodded, rubbing Niall's shoulder as he flinched again.

There was a collective gasp from the crowd as Liam was smacked to the floor of the ring with a resounding thud.

One… two… there… four…

The other bloke had a smug grin on his face and turned to the crowd. But before the count was up, Liam shakily pushed himself back to his feet. There was a cheer from the crowd, making the other man turn, but Liam had already planted his gloved fist against his jaw, knocking him flat.

The ten-second count was up and the bloke was still down.

"And our winner is Liam 'The Payne Train' Payne!" announced a voice from an unknown location. Niall wanted to cry from relief. "The Payne Train is moving on to the finals!"

Liam headed to the side of the ring, wiping the blood off his chin with the back of his hand and tossing his gloves to his trainer. He climbed out of the ring, Niall instantly flinging his arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

"Christ, Liam," Niall sniffled, burying his face in Liam's shoulder.

"Hey, I'm okay," Liam assured him breathlessly, rubbing Niall's back soothingly. "I'm okay."

"That was hell," Niall whispered. "Watching him beat you up…"

"But I won, and it's only a few bruises," Liam murmured. He pulled back from Niall and looked down at him.

"Look at your face," Niall sighed, attempting to hide a sniffle as he touched his fingers to the discolouration around Liam's eye. "You're coming to the AMAs with me next week looking like that, y'know," he half-laughed.

"I know," Liam chuckled.

Niall glanced over Liam's shoulder, just in time to see his opponent start to charge at them furiously. Without thinking, Niall quickly stood in front of his boyfriend, squeezing his eyes shut as the man kept coming.

When there was no impact, Niall peeked one eye open, then the other when he saw the bloke standing in front of him, breathing heavy and glaring down at him. "Get out of my way," the bloke growled.

"Fat chance," Niall shot back, forcibly keeping Liam behind him.

Growling again, the bloke brought his fist back and Liam grabbed at the back of Niall's jacket.

"Go on, then," Niall dared. "Are you gonna hit me?" The bloke backed down a little. " _Well_?!" Niall demanded and the bloke backed off completely, retreating to where his trainer was looking deeply disappointed with him.

"Don't you dare do that again," Liam said angrily in his ear. "Ever." He grabbed Niall's arm and pulled him through to his prep-room, slamming the door shut behind them. "What was that?"

"I didn't want to watch him hit you anymore," Niall huffed, folding his arms stubbornly.

"Niall, for God's sake, he could've _killed_ you!" Liam exclaimed. "I couldn't've watched that!"

"And you really think I wanted to watch him beat you up _more_?" Niall snapped. "You think I enjoy watching people hit you? I come along so I know if something happens, I'm here. If I wasn't so fucking worried about you, Liam, I wouldn't come to these things because they scare the shit out of me." Blowing out a slow breath, Niall sniffed, "I'm proud of your achievements, Li, but they're painful to watch. And if some prick thinks he can beat you shitless _outside_ the ring, he's gotta get through me first."

" _Why_?" Liam asked incredulously.

"Because what sort of sicko would that make him if he _did_ hit me? And I've got this immunity called a fan base. If he fucks with me, he'll regret it, and he _knows_ that."

Liam marched up to him and grabbed Niall's face in both hands. "I don't want to see you get hurt," he stated firmly. "I'm a boxer, it's part of my job, but I don't want you taking punches for me, Niall. I can't stand it when you're in pain."

"How do you think I feel?" Niall sniffled.

Stroking Niall's cheeks, Liam leaned their foreheads together and whispered, "If you ever end up with a single mark on you because you stood up for me, I'll feel like it's my responsibility. Please don't do that to me."

Niall's tears fell and he nodded once, wrapping his arms around Liam's neck. He blew out a long, slow breath, sniffling again. "I'm sorry."

"Just promise you won't do that again," Liam pleaded.

Niall sniffed. "I promise."

Giving Niall a soft kiss, Liam pulled him into a proper hug and buried his nose in the nape of the blonde's neck. He rubbed his hand up and down the length of Niall's back, slowly feeling him relax. "Okay," Liam sighed, reluctantly pulling back. "Better get cleaned up so we can go home."

"Yeah," Niall murmured.

 

"Are you sure?" Liam checked with Niall as their car pulled up to the red carpet. He had been tugging at his suit jacket for the past ten minutes, constantly smoothing out his white shirt underneath.

"Liam, for heaven's sake," Niall chuckled, batting Liam's hands away. "You look stunning, stop fussing."

Paul opened the door for them and Niall stepped out first. He then held his hand out for Liam, who blew out a sharp breath and grabbed onto it, hopping out and standing beside Niall. There were cameras clicking and flashing everywhere, but Niall seemed to know what he was doing, leading Liam to a spot with a brand-labelled backdrop.

"Look like you're glad to be here," Niall whispered, grinning at the cameras.

They quickly moved on into the building, for which Liam was wholly grateful. There was a man in all black waiting for them who showed them to their seats with a polite smile.

"My God, this is so bizarre," Liam muttered once they were sitting.

"Not as bizarre as it is that the song I wrote for you is up for awards," Niall told him, squeezing Liam's hand. "How nuts is that?"

"You're talented, that's not nuts at all," Liam smiled.

Blushing at the sudden compliment, Niall chuckled, "Such a charmer." He leaned in and pecked Liam's cheek.

Soon enough, proceedings were underway. People won awards, people performed… Liam found the whole thing a bit overwhelming.

"The award for best male solo artist goes to… Niall Horan!"

As soon as he heard Niall's name, Liam found himself grinning at him. "Go on up, babe," he prompted, squeezing his hand one last time before ushering Niall out of his seat.

The blonde looked stunned, heading up to the stage and receiving his award in shock. "Um… I was absolutely not expecting to come even close to winning this because Justin Bieber was nominated, too, so I'm kinda in shock at the moment."

Liam had to laugh a little; he had heard quite a lot about his boyfriend's singing idol and knew this would be huge for him.

"I'd just like to say a massive thank you to everyone who voted, thank you so much." Niall retreated from the stage as the audience applauded again. He plopped down in his seat and breathed out a shaky laugh. "I beat Justin Bieber," he whispered.

"Hardly surprising, really," Liam smiled, wrapping his arm around Niall's shoulders.

Niall rolled his eyes. "Shut up, you."

 

Niall won three awards in the end and he asked Liam to carry one for him as they left. "I don't have enough hands," was his mumbled excuse, but Liam knew him better than that.

"You don't have to share, y'know," he murmured to the blonde as they headed to the small interview room out the back.

"I'm still fighting for people to accept you, Li," Niall sighed as they stopped outside the door. "I figured the more they see that I actually trust you and want to be with you, the faster they'll accept it."

Shaking his head with a smile, Liam kissed Niall's cheek. "I don't care whether they accept me or not."

"Well, I do."

Liam sighed and rubbed Niall's back; he knew this wasn't an argument he'd win, so didn't pick it.

When Niall was let into the room, he dragged a slightly-unwilling Liam in with him. Cameras flashed and Liam had to force himself not to flinch.

"Niall, how does it feel to have won three awards at your first AMAs?" asked the American woman running the miniature conference.

"It's amazing, actually. I never really expected to win anything, so this is mad," Niall half-laughed, tugging Liam a little closer.

"And you brought along a friend?"

Niall frowned a bit at that. "Boyfriend, actually. This is Liam," he explained.

"Do you like to share this sort of thing with him?"

"Absolutely," Niall nodded, squeezing Liam's hand when he noticed how tense he was. "I wouldn't have these without him, so it makes sense that he's part of it, too."

"Why wouldn't you have them without him?"

The flashing lights were beginning to hurt Liam's eyes so he diverted his focus to his hand linked with Niall's as he listened to his answer. "I wrote 'You & I' for Liam, and I think that's been my biggest success so far," Niall told the interviewer. "It's definitely the song I'm most proud of."

"Okay, next question; did you two get in a fight?"

Shaking off his annoyance that the woman blatantly ignored his answer, Niall asked incredulously, "What? Why would we be fighting?"

"Where'd Liam get the black eye?"

"I'm a boxer." Liam was unsure as to whether he should be answering questions, but the idea that people thought they were violent towards each other was a step in the wrong direction. "I got hit in the face pretty bad in the fight last week. Niall didn't hit me."

"Don't you think dating a boxer is a bit dangerous, Niall?"

This woman was grating at Niall's nerves. "I'm perfectly safe at his matches. No one touches me because they know what Liam'll do to them if they do."

"What I meant was aren't you worried about falling into an abusive relationship?" the woman clarified.

"What?" Niall gaped at the woman, disgusted. A silence stretched across the room, only a few clicks of cameras filling it. "I'm sorry, I've had enough of this." He turned on his heel and marched out of the room, pulling Liam along behind him to the sounds of the paparazzi calling him back. Liam was completely willing to follow him this time.

 

The ride to their hotel was silent, then Liam and Paul had to jog to keep up with Niall and his brisk steps. Paul eyed them inconspicuously during the tense trip to their floor via the lift, but said nothing. "I'll be in here if you need me," he muttered before disappearing into the room beside Niall and Liam's.

Liam opened their door and let them in, sitting the award he had been carrying on the desk to his left. He pulled his jacket off, jumping when he heard Niall slam the door shut.

"Why didn't you stand up for me?" Niall demanded, glaring at him with hands in fists. "I stood up for you at your fight, why won't you stand up for me?"

Liam sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I didn't want you to stand up for me. It was dangerous-"

"But confronting those pricks with cameras wasn't! Why didn't you?"

"Because I'm shit at coming up with comebacks," Liam huffed. "How am I supposed to stand up for you if it takes me ten minutes to think of something that will shut them up?"

"You seem fine thinking of comebacks to me," Niall snapped, folding his arms.

"That because it's _you_." Liam threw his hands up. "Fine, you wanna know why? Because it's _embarrassing_. I'm too _embarrassed_ to stand up for you."

Niall's jaw dropped open and he took a step back. "You're embarrassed of me?" he asked quietly.

"No!"

"That's what you said! You said it's embarrassing to stand up for me!"

" _No_!" Liam kicked the bedpost hard, turning away from Niall and heading to the dark window. "That's not what I said."

"What _did_ you say, then?" Niall dared, but his voice wobbled slightly as he folded his arms defensively.

Liam sighed, leaning his forehead against the cold glass. "I'm embarrassed of talking in front of people. I hate attention like that."

"Liam, you're the absolute centre of attention in the ring," Niall scoffed. "Everyone is looking at you then."

"That's _different_."

" _How_?" Niall demanded.

"Because boxing is something I can _do_. I know how to do it and I know I can do it well. Talking is so much harder. At least when you mess up in boxing, you know you're gonna get hit. When you mess up what you're saying, people can get the wrong impression or twist your words or just make everything _worse_." Blowing out a steadying breath, Liam admitted, "I didn't want to talk too much in case I just made it worse for you."

There was a long silence, then Niall asked, "Why didn't you just say that?"

"Because I can't articulate what I want to say! Because I know all these big and amazing words but I can't _use_ them and because I didn't think you'd _believe_ me."

Another silence followed, then Liam felt a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," Niall whispered. "I guess I did kinda shout at you to start with."

"Yeah," Liam replied softly.

Niall slid his arms around Liam's waist, trying to look around his arm at his face. "Li?" Changing tactic, Niall wormed his way between Liam's arm and side, wriggling until he could look up at him. "Liam?"

Glancing down at Niall, Liam let a smile curve the corners of his mouth up a little. "Yeah?" he chuckled slightly, tapping the end of Niall's nose.

"I'm sorry," Niall stated sincerely.

"Me too," Liam sighed. He ruffled Niall's hair fondly. "If standing up for you meant physically fighting for you, I would. I just can't do words."

"There's no way I could fight someone for you," Niall chuckled, snuggling into Liam's side. "But I'll argue with them 'til I'm blue in the face."

Combing his fingers through Niall's locks absently, Liam murmured, "We need to be a team. You do verbal, I do physical." He leaned down and kissed Niall's forehead. "We can do this."

"Of course we can," Niall grinned at him. "What did you think I was saying in my song?"

"Silence and sound," Liam murmured, pointing to himself, then gently poking Niall's nose.

"Meet in the middle," Niall whispered as they both turned to stare out at the lights of the city filling the darkness. "There's always room for common ground."

Liam kissed Niall's hair and leaned his cheek on his boyfriend's head. "They'll never fight like us. The way we fight _for_ us."


End file.
